Refuse handling vehicle



1959 o. M. ANDERSON ETAL 2,368,393

REFUSE HANDLING VEHICLE s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1956 INVENTORS Orin M flnderson William/9. Ferrari ATTORNEYS 1959 o. M. ANDERSON ETAL 2,868,393

REFUSE HANDLING VEHICLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19, 1956 FIG] m m N w m WW m m BY Q MW; \QWQW WQ ATTORNEYS Jan. 13, 1959 o. M. ANDERSON ETAL 2,858,398

REFUSE HANDLING VEHICLE Filed June 19, 1956 SSheets-Sheet s United States Patent 2,sss,39s REFUSE HANDLING VEHICLE Orin M. Anderson andWilliam A. Ferrari, San Antonio, Tex assignors, by mesne assignments, to Pak-Mor Manufacturing Company, San Antonio, Tex, a corpo- This invention relates torefusehandling'and more particularly to an improved refuse handling vehicle and procedure for transporting a maximum load of refuse and the like.

Refuse handling vehielesprovided with means for compacting orcompress'ing the refuse after it is loaded into the refuse receptacle have come into widespread use. Refuse handling vehicles of this type are disclosed in United States Patents 2,258,988 issued October 14, 1941 and 2,557,0O3 issued June 12,1951. In 'general, such vehicles include a refuse receptacle of uniform cross-section having a loading opening at its forward end, dumping doors at its rear end and a packer plate movable longitudinally therewithin to compress the refuse deposited into the receptacle through the loading opening against thedumping doors when closed andto discharge the compressed refuse through the rear end ofthe receptacle when the doors are open. The advantages of compressing the load is self-evident inthatit enablesthe vehicle .to carry a considerably greaterload'than would be possible With out .compresison. It will be understood that a substantial reduction in the number of trips to the dumping station effects a substantial-economical savingin the overall refuse removal operation. "While the known refuse handling vehicles of therefuse'compressing type 'have proven satisfactory, the maximum siZeor capacity of such vehicles is limited by a number of practical considerations.

In the first place, because the force that must be applied to move the packer member from the front of the recep tacle in discharging .a 'refuselloadcompressed therein increases withzincreasing capacity, substantially increasing difficulty is .encounteredin providing adequate structural strength in the mechanism for operating the packer mernber as capacity isincreased. Also, while this necessary increase in force, which is due mainly to increased surface friction, may be minimized byrenlarging the receptacle in diameter or cross section, rather than in length, to obtain greater capacity, such enlargement in cross-section is limited to that which .may be accommodated on a motor truck or the like, and whichxm'ay be adapted suitably in use'to road clearance conditions andithe like, so that increase in capacity must come largely by increase in length' In addition, as capacityis increased by lengthening the receptacle, the operation of the device becomesless efiicient because of the longer stroke required for thepacker member, and the resulting greater time involved. in nonworking return travel on which loading of the receptacle must wait. Because of such considerations, ithas heretofore been ditficult toprovide a capacityinexcess of about 20 cu. yds. in ordinary refuse handling vehicles of this sort.

Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a refuse handling vehicle having a substantially greater load capacity than those heretofore provicled without requiring an increase in power or constructional strength.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel procedure for transporting refuse from a mul- 2 tiplicity of pickup stations to a discharge station which involves picking up a maximum load in the refuse receptacle so as to reduce transportation trips to the discharge station.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a refuse handling vehicle having an elongated refuse receptacle and improved packing means operable to compress refuse deposited in the central portion of the receptacle against both ends thereof and to discharge the compressedrefuse from both ends thereof.

A still further object of the present inventionis the provision of a refuse handling vehicle of the type described in which the loading and compressing operations can be carried on simultaneously so as to reduce operating time.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the course of the following detailed description and appended claims.

The invention may bestbe understood with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein an .illustrative embodiment is shown. I

In the drawings: I

Figure l is a sideelevationalview showing a refuse handling vehicle embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the refuse handling vehicle taken substantially on line 2--2 in Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantiallyon the line 3-.3fin Figure l; t

Figure 4 is an enlargedview taken substantially on line 44 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a packermember for the refuse handling vehicle showing a symmetrical half thereof;

Figure 6 is a: further sectional idetailrofsthe packer member taken substantiallyon line 6-6 in Fig ure 5; and

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic sketch indicating the mannet in which the trailer unittofthe refuse handlingdevice is maneuvered for. dumping at both ends;

Referring nowmore particularly tothe drawings, there is showna-refuse handling vehicle or device, generally indicated at 10, which embodies the principles of the present invention. The vehicle includes an elongated body or. receptacle 12 of uniform cross-section havinga loadingopening 14 formed at the top andintermediately of its length, which opening 14 may be arranged with any suitable closure or hatch means as indicated at 16. Suitable closure means, such as dumping doors 18, are provided for closingthefront and rear endslof the receptacle. As shown in Figure 2, thedumping doors 18 may be vertically hinged as at 20 on the receptacle 12.and are'held inclosed position by locking pins or rods 22 controlled by levers .24 for selective engagement with alpertured lugs .26 mounted .on the receptacle. Any auxiliary loading or lifting device mayrbe'locatedadja-c'ent the loading opening 14, as indicated 'at .23 in Figure 1, for facilitating the loading of the receptacle in the most convenient manner for the particular cir'' cumstances under which the refuse handlingolehicle 'of the presentinvention is to be used. I

T he refuse receptacle :12 maybe mountedone trailer wheeled chassis, as indicated generally at 30, for use as a trailer-unit arranged-tobe articulately connected to a tractor 32 (see Figure 1) at the fifth wheeltassembly thereof, as indicated at 34, so that it may be moved and manipulated in the ordinary manner of a truck for refuse collection. Inside the refuse receptacle, a double faced packer plate member, as indicated generally in Figurel at 36, is arranged transversely for longitudinal movement in either direction past the loading opening 14, so that the receptacle can be loaded continuously while the packer member 36 is operatedto compress loaded refuse toward the dumping doors 18 at either end thereof. As best shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, the packer member 36 comprises a pair of transverse face plates 38 presenting respective working surfaces arranged in opposed relation to both the front and rear dumping doors 18. The face plates are mounted in spaced relation to each other by means of a plurality of interposed vertical and transverse brace members 40 and 42. Surrounding the outer periphery of the face plates 38 is a peripheral plate 44 which serves to guide the packer member within the interior of the receptacle during its longitudinal movement therein. Breather tubes 46 may be provided between the upper ends of the face plates to permit easier movement of the packer member. Mounted in the lower central edge portion of the face plates and extending longitudinally therethrough is a gusset 48. The parts of the entire packermember 36 may be rigidly secured together by any suitable means, such as welding or thelike.

The gusset 48 of the packer member 36 is disposed between central floor channels 50 rigidly mounted in the floor and extending throughout the length of the receptacle 12, as disclosed in the above noted prior Patent No. 2,557,003. Opposed pairs of rollers 52 are mounted on the gusset to ride within the channels 50 and vertically spaced pairs of rollers 54 are also arranged to ride rails 55 rigidly mounted on top of the floor channels 50. In' addition, transversely spaced rollers 56 journaled between the lower ends of spaced vertical brace members 40 are arranged to ride rails 58 spaced in the receptacle at each side of the floor channels 50 for steadying the movement of the packer member 36.

The power connection to the packer member 36 is made through flexible means, such as a sprocket chain indicated at 60 in Figure 1, arranged for pulling it longitudinally in either direction within the receptacle 12. For this purpose, the sprocket chain 60 is extended over an idler sprocket 62 and a drive sprocket 64 journaled respectively adjacent the front and rear ends of the receptacle and has its ends extending between the channels 50 and fixed to the front and rear ends of the gusset 48. By this arrangement, the compression space in the receptacle 12 between the working faces of the packer member 36 and the front and rear dumping doors 18 is maintained entirely clear and unobstructed by any operating elements.

One form of the power transmission systems that may be employed for supplying driving power to the packer member 36 through the sprocket chain 60, as illustrated in Figure 1, comprises a geared speed reducer 66 arranged in driving relation at the drive sprocket 64 as by a connecting chain 68, with a torque limiting device, such as a magnetic clutch 70, operatively connected to the speed reducer 66 through a shaft 72 and driven through an intermediate sprocket and chain arrangement, as indicated generally at 74, from the power shaft 76 of an internal combustion engine 78. It will be understood, however, that the power unit of the tractor may be connected to drive the packer member 36 by means of transmission such as disclosed in the aforesaid Patent 2,557,- 003.

In operation of the refuse handling device of the presour invention, the refuse receptacle 12 is loaded through the loading opening 14 with the packer member 36 moved to one side. As soon as the area under the opening 14 becomes congested with refuse, the packer member 36 is actuated through the previously described power transmission system to move it past the opening 14 and push the loaded refuse toward a respective end of the receptacle, thus emptying the loading area beneath the opening 14 and compressing the refuse against the dumping doors 18 at the respective receptacle end. The cycle of loading and compressing the refuse in the receptacle 12 is repeated until the same is completely loaded with refuse toward both ends.

above to discharge the compressed refuse from the front portion of the receptacle. When the front half of the receptacle has been completely unloaded, the trailer is then pulled forward to the position III from which itis backed to the position IV for unloading the rear half of the receptacle again at point X as shown in Figure 7.

It can thus be seen that there has been provided a refuse handling vehicle which substantially increases the load capacity which has been previously provided by the vehicles heretofore known. Of primary significance is the fact that this increase in load capacity is obtained without requiring any greater power or strength of construction. For receptacles having the same cross-sectional dimensions and working stroke, the present arrangement can be made to provide over twice as much load capacity as previous vehicles without increasing the strength of construction. This is possible due to the provision of a single packer member which is operable to compress the refuse and discharge the compressed refuse from both ends of the receptacle. Another significant feature in this regard is that the working time can, on many occasions, be reduced since loading of one end of the receptacle through the opening 14 can be accomplished at the same time that the loaded refuse in the other end is being compressed. Heretoforc, these operations could not be performed simultaneously, and there was some time lag in returning the packer member to its forward position to permit loading after compression was completed. With the present arrangement, loading can be accomplished not only during the return stroke but during the compressing stroke as well.

It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the foregoing specific embodiment has been shown and described only for the purpose of illustrating the principles of this invention and is subject to extensive change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A refuse handling vehicle comprising an elongated refuse receptacle having a loading opening formed therein intermediate its ends, closure means at each end of said receptacle, packing means mounted for longitudinal movement within said receptacle, and means for moving said packing means from said opening toward the closure means at each end of said receptacle so as to compress refuse deposited in said receptacle through said opening against each closure means when closed and to discharge the compressed refuse out of each end of said receptacle when the associated closure means is open.

2. In a refuse handling vehicle, an elongated refuse receptacle of uniform transverse cross-section, a loading hatch arranged substantially midway of the length of said receptacle, dumping doors at each end of said receptacle arranged for closing said ends, a packer member arranged transversely within said receptacle for movement therein longitudinally past said loading hatch in either direction, said packer member having opposite working faces for compressing refuse deposited in said receptacle through said loading hatch against both of said dumping doors when closed and for discharging refuse so compressed through both of said dumping doors when opened, and means for pulling said packer member longitudinally in either direction within said receptacle.

3. A refuse handling device comprising an elongated body of uniform transverse cross-section arranged to be mounted on a trailer for hitching to a tractor, a loading hatch arranged substantially midway of said body, dumping doors at each end of said body arranged for closing said ends, a packer member arranged within said body for movement therein longitudinally past said loading hatch in both directions and formed with opposite working faces extending transversely throughout the crosssection of said'body, and means for pulling said packer member longitudinally in both directions within said body, whereby said packer member is arranged to compress refuse deposited in said body through said loading hatch against the dumping doors at both ends of said body when closed and for discharging said refuse through both of said dumping doors when opened. t

4. A refuse handling vehicle comprising a trailer unit arranged adjacent one end for hitching to a tractor at a fifth-wheel assembly thereof, said trailer unit comprising an elongated body of uniform transverse cross-section, a loading hatch arranged substantially midway of said body,

dumping doors at each end of said body arranged for closing said ends, a packer member arranged within said body for movement therein longitudinally past said loading hatch in both directions and formed with opposite working faces extending transversely to fit closely within the crosssection of said body, and means for pulling said packer member longitudinally in both directions within said body, whereby refuse deposited in said body through said loading hatch may be compressed against both of said dumping doors when closed and discharged therethrough when opened, and said trailer unit maybe jackknifed for discharging refuse at the hitching end thereof while remaining hitched to a tractor.

5. A refuse handling vehicle comprising a trailer unit including a Wheeled frame having means at one end thereof for connecting the same to a tractor at the fifth wheel assembly thereof, an elongated body carried by said frame defining a refuse receptacle extending from the forward end of said frame above said tractor connecting means to the rearward end thereof, a loading hatch disposed in the mid-portion of said body, discharge door means at opposite ends of said body, a packer plate assembly mounted in said receptacle for longitudinal reciprocation therein substantially throughout the length thereof, and motor means carried by said frame beneath said body for effecting reciprocation of said packer plate assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,084,356 Parriott Jan. 13, 1914 2,078,939 Ferguson May 4, 1937 2,290,460 Winsor July 21, 1942 2,436,959 Ekin et a1 Mar. 21, 1948 2,557,003 LeLaurin June 12, 1951 2,587,997 Guettler Mar. 4, 1952 2,630,928 McCombs Mar. 10, 1953 2,696,925 LeLaurin Dec. 14, 1954 

